The Film Stage on Marc Webb's approach to the 'untold story' of The Amazing Spider-Man which has been told oh so many times before.Vulture Star Market Charlize TheronComing Soon has a chat with shooting star Tom Hiddleston on War Horse and Midnight in ParisThe Playlist Stellan Skarsgard on getting naked for Lars von Trier for next year's The Nymphomaniac. Another von Trier alum Charlotte Gainsbourg will co-star in what Lars is calling his "porno"... not to be confused with the pornographic moments from The Idiots (incidentally one of the director's very best films though people rarely speak of it now.)

Moviefone 25 things you didn't know about Harold & Maude for its 40th anniversary.The House Next Door picks the worst movie posters of the year.In Contention interviews Kenneth Branagh on his "dangerously obvious casting" as Sir Laurence OlivierCinema Blend promised me a list of best "tiny" performances and then just gave me a list of good supporting performances, some of them in several scenes of their movies, one them third largest role in the movie! I need cameo suggestions, for my own awards, c'mon!!!The Advocate has a fun list: Most Googled gays and lesbians of 2011. Congratulations to the lot of them.MNPP The trailer for a trailer for a not prequel sequel Prometheus

Pajiba Dustin hates the Dexter finale on Season 6 (as did I) yet plans to come back for more. This is why TV shows outstay their welcome! Don't do it. Jump ship once the show jumps shark. If people exhibited half the patience they give television to the movies Bela Tarr and Sofia Coppola would have 100 million grossers under their belt ;) Why do people hate on "slow" movies but come back for TV shows week after week when it can sometimes takes 12 hours for something to happen which actually advances the plot? Paste 100 Best Twitter accounts of 2011... sadly the movie stars aren't bringing it. Real celebs on the list are mostly music and TV talents but Steve Martin and Diablo Cody richly deserve their places on the list. Animation Magazine a new Bill Plympton animated short based on Winsor McCay's "Flying House" is hitting the festival circuit. Maybe we'll hear of it in next year's Oscar discussion? He's been nominated twice before.The New York Times wonders what's going with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close's late breaking Oscar campaign.

Finally... If you'd like to read a piece that is fine though unrelated follow up to Michael's recent "Burning Questions" post about being nominated without precursor support, Erik at Movies.com has been crunching other numbers with the same time frame using the Chicago Film Critics of all things as a major predictor. He also reminds us of those unlucky few leads from the past decade who did NOT go on to Oscar nominations despite having the entire big precursor trifecta BFCA/SAG/GLOBE and they were Cinderella Man's Russell Crowe, Sideways' Paul Giamatti, Lars and the Real Girl's Ryan Gosling and A Mighty Heart's Angelina Jolie. Locks can be broken in other words. Of this year's leading crowd that already has all three I'd say only Tilda Swinton and Leonardo DiCaprio seem vulnerable. That said, I'm not prepared to bet against Leo, biopic leads being crack cocaine to AMPAS. Tilda on the other hand I still wonder about given that it's not an Oscar style film by any stretch of the imagination.

Reader Comments (8)

Tilda will get BAFTA support though, too. No one's ever had the NBR+SAG+GG+BFCA+BAFTA combination and lost out. I think? She's just got the numbers she needs. It's not an Oscar movie but I mean she's definitely good enough to get nominated, which matters more ultimately, and Cynthia Swartz hasn't really been doing much campaigning for anything else that I know of this year and I'd even argue that she's a better campaigner than Weinstein himself.

On the other hand, Cinderella Man and Sideways were "Oscar style film[s] by any stretch of the imagination." I think of all the "locks," Jean Dujardin is suspiciously vulnerable. He isn't well-known. And Oscar isn't as keen on comedies. I can't really imagine an Artist BP nod without a nod for it's leading man -- but I also couldn't imagine a Sideways nod without one for Paul Giamatti.

I don't think Dujardin's case is the same as Giamatti, Dusty. Yes, he's not well-know and he's starring in a "comedy" film. But, on the other hand:

-Weinstein is behind the publicity. At least for nominations, Weinstein will fight for his prime horse.-The film is the frontrunner. Actually, with the exception of "The Descendants"; the competition have serious problems with the critics and guild awards.-This year, there's no clear frontrunner in Best Actor category: Clooney (5), Fassbender/Shannon (4), Pitt (2), Dujardin, Giamatti, Gordon-Levitt, Oldman (1). If Pitt and Clooney are the favorites, maybe Dujardin could surprise because both stars neutralized the votes each other and "The Artist" could have a big support for the Academy. Also, there's history of relative unknow actors who won the lead Oscars instead big stars (Schell, Benigni, Brody)-Au contraire with Giamatti, the mass-media is having an excellent reception with Dujardin and Bejo. Even they named Dujardin as "the french George Clooney". It's possible he'll becoming the next french star in Hollywood after Marion Cotillard (Coincidence: Both starred "Les Petits Mouchoirs")-Is Dujardin's George Valentin a full comedic performance? Yes, he has comedic moments, but also really dramatic moments.-With the success by the London Film Critics, it's possible a British support by BAFTA

Well, maybe I'm wrong, but I think Fassbender (SAG snub, NC-17 film, full nudity) could be the most possible snub by all the possible contenders